Haugh: Illinois' search turns into debacle

Process that began amid such promise will end smacking of desperation

March 26, 2012|David Haugh's In the Wake of the News

Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas may be overmatched in that role. (Ben Woloszyn/Photo for the Tribune)

Had Akron guard Brian Walsh hit an open 18-footer with nine seconds left in the Mid-American Conference championship game two weeks ago, Illinois fans never would have spent Monday Googling the name John Groce.

But Walsh missed, the Ohio team coached by Groce hung on for a 64-63 victory to clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament and, here we are, with Illinois ready to take home the girl it met five minutes before closing time.

This is no way to start a basketball marriage.

Overmatched Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas realizes he represents one of the proudest basketball traditions in the Big Ten and not the University of East Central Illinois, right? Is the stature of the program reduced enough to start using a hyphen: Illinois-Champaign?

Barring an 11th-hour surprise, a national coaching search that began amid such promise will end smacking of desperation. If Groce becomes the next Illinois head coach as several sources expect, he will accept the job knowing at least five other candidates decided it was not for them. That says more about the process than Groce, a reputable, indefatigable coach who indeed could restore pride to the Illini.

Lingering frustration has less to do with why hiring a 40-year-old with a 34-30 record in the MAC represents such a big risk in the Big Ten. It has more to do with how Thomas put the school in the position to settle for this year's March college basketball flavor of the month who could be the next Thad Matta — or the next Dan Monson.

As the search nears its clumsy conclusion, oddly I have more questions about Thomas than Groce.

That's what happens when a leader panders.

Thomas started out strong by chasing Shaka Smart of Virginia Commonwealth. Some put Smart in the same category as Groce in terms of midmajor whiz kid whose tournament success made him attractive — a valid debate. But there is no doubt Thomas' pursuit of Smart and subsequent eight-year, $21 million contract offer illustrated an AD committed to hiring a coveted head coach right for Illinois, no matter the cost.

Then Smart said no and Thomas not only lost his man, but his way.

From the periphery, the priority of finding the best African-American coach then took precedent for Thomas over finding the best coach, period.

How else to explain Illinois unsuccessfully approaching, via intermediaries, obscure Midwestern fits such as Alabama's Anthony Grant, Washington's Lorenzo Romar and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton? Why not Baylor's Scott Drew or Kansas State's Frank Martin? Chris Collins? I can see Grant, but Hamilton and Romar appeared to be names randomly pulled off a list of most qualified African-American coaches who might consider changing jobs.

When a source told me Illinois researched Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins and Duke assistant Jeff Capel, it seemed obvious Thomas had gotten sidetracked trying to serve the wrong constituency. It seemed the two Illinois board of trustees who voted against hiring football coach Tim Beckman because he was white had gotten inside Thomas' head.

For a school such as Illinois that never has done so in a major-revenue sport, hiring a black head coach who represents the best candidate will matter greatly when it happens. But hiring a black head coach who merely represents the best black candidate diminishes everybody.

Perhaps Thomas realized his flawed logic after getting indications that neither Grant nor Romar nor Hamilton had enough interest to jump. Thomas regrouped, but re-established even more unrealistic goals. He aimed to do what Oregon, North Carolina State and Clemson couldn't and pry Brad Stevens out of Butler. Predictably, Stevens turned down the same contract offer Smart did.

Meanwhile, as Thomas wasted time chasing Stevens, Kansas State's Martin — a proven winner never considered but was interested in the Illinois job — accepted the job at South Carolina.

Consider: Smart and Stevens, two midmajor coaches, turned down a $21 million job everyone now can stop referring to as great for the comforts of home. Two 35-year-old fathers passed up generational wealth and an opportunity to coach in America's best basketball conference for … stability Illinois couldn't offer?

Blame the forced resignation of university President Michael Hogan for creating uncertainty. Blame fears of recruiting Chicago, where the perception of secret handshakes and backroom deals that scared away Smart exceeds the reality. Blame Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose harsh rebuke of Thomas' handling of Bruce Weber created questions in the coaching community how much support Weber's successor would have. Blame Thomas, an exposed novice, for making $3.9 million spent on Weber's buyout seem like a shakier investment every day.

Blame Groce for nothing, except being an unwitting understudy in an Illinois comedy of errors.